Magnification and lighting attachment for mobile telephones

ABSTRACT

An assembly for use on a piece of equipment comprising a mobile phone with a camera function, the phone having a light which is integral to the body of the equipment, the phone further including a camera lens capable of taking a photograph of an object, and a phone cover removably attached to the mobile phone. The assembly has a carrier assembly, the carrier assembly has a support and a base, and a carrier member attached to the support, the carrier member being movably and releasably mounted to the support, and the carrier member is movable relative to the base and the phone cover. The carrier member includes at least one lens station mounted on it, the lens station includes at least one lens separate from but aligned with the lens in the body of the mobile phone. The lens at the lens station is located between the camera lens of the mobile phone and the object to be photographed and the lens of the lens station is adapted to magnify the image of the object. The carrier member further includes a light source mounted thereto. The light source is adapted to illuminate at least a portion of the object to be photographed. The light source being mounted to the carrier member such that the light source is movable relative to the base and the phone cover, and the light source is separate from but operatively associated with the light in the body of the phone so that light from the light in the body of the phone is coupled to the light source on the carrier member and the light exits the light source and is projected toward the object to be photographed.

This disclosure claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationAppl. No. 62/497,999 filed Dec. 12, 2016.

The disclosure relates to magnification and lighting devices that areuseful as an attachment to equipment such as electronic equipment havinga digital camera function and light such as for example a cell phone,tablet, or other electronic device.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Mobile telephone devices may include a camera with a lens and a lightintegrated in the body of the devices. In order to obtain qualityimages, the object that is the subject of a picture taken by the camerashould be appropriately magnified and illuminated. Magnification can beaccomplished by the use of a hand-held magnifying glass, but this is notattached to the mobile device and is cumbersome to use. Similarly alight such as a hand-held flashlight can be used to further illuminatethe subject of a picture but this can be cumbersome as well.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

One aspect of the disclosure is an assembly for use on a piece ofequipment comprising a mobile phone with a camera function, the phonehaving a light which is integral to the body of the equipment, the phonefurther including a camera lens capable of taking a photograph of anobject, and a phone cover removably attached to the mobile phone. Morespecifically, the assembly has a carrier assembly that can be attachedto the phone. The carrier assembly includes a magnifying lens stationand a light source additional to, and for operation with, the light andthe lens already existing inside the mobile phone. The carrier assemblyhas a support and a base, and a carrier member attached to the support,the carrier member preferably being movably and releasably mounted tothe support, and the carrier member is movable relative to the base andthe phone cover. The carrier member includes at least one lens stationmounted on it, the lens station includes at least one lens separate frombut alignable with the lens in the body of the mobile phone. The lens atthe lens station is located between the camera lens of the mobile phoneand the object to be photographed and the lens of the lens station isadapted to magnify the image of the object and project that magnifiedimage to the lens in the body of the phone. The carrier member furtherincludes a light source mounted thereto. The light source is adapted toilluminate at least a portion of the object to be photographed. Thelight source being mounted to the carrier member such that the lightsource is movable relative to the base and the phone cover, and thelight source is separate from but operatively associated with the lightin the body of the phone so that light emanating from the light in thebody of the phone is coupled into the light source on the carriermember, and the light exits the light source and is projected toward theobject to be photographed.

In another aspect of the disclosure, the light source has a firstoptical path or trace made of a transparent material such as glassoptical fiber, for example. The first optical path or trace having anoptical collector at one end for collecting light from the light whichis integral to the phone. The optical collector couples the light intothe transparent material, and the first optical path includes least onelight emitter optically coupled to another end of the first optical pathand projecting light for illuminating the object to be photographed withlight transmitted from the collector to the emitter. The opticalcollector is to be optically aligned with the light which is integral tothe phone so the light emanating therefrom light is transmitted into thecollector and through the first optical path to the emitter and formthere toward the object to be photographed. More specifically, from theemitter the light is projected toward the object to be photographed whenthe image of the object is being magnified by the lens.

In yet another aspect of the disclosure, the light source includes anoptical splitter, the optical splitter being optically attached to thefirst optical path, and the optical splitter being optically attached toa second optical path having a second emitter. The optical splitter canbe, for example, a Y-branch formed in the optical trace and can beformed of glass or transparent plastic material. The optical splitterpermits light to be transmitted to, for example, both of the first andsecond optical paths and the first and second emitters, respectively.The splitter can have more than two branches, however. The emitters areglass or transparent materials with that project light out of theoptical path or trace, and can have a convex or concave shape fordispersing or focusing the light.

The carrier member and support can have a ratchet and pawl constructionso that movement of the carrier member results in the carrier memberbeing releasably fixed in place according to the desired disposition ofthe carrier member relative to the support. Since the carrier member hasmultiple lens stations, moving the carrier member will align the lensand light of the phone with the desired lens and light source of thelens stations. This allows for various degrees of magnification andselection of lighting schemes for the photographs. In other words, adesired position is aligning a lens station and optical collector withthe lens and light in the body of the phone. In such a desired positionthe opening (described below) formed in the carrier member would not bein an aligned position with respect to the lens and light of the phone.Moreover, the support can be attached to a surface of the cover of thephone by adhesive or Velcro, for example, or the support can bemonolithically formed with the cover. Alternatively, the support canhave flexible extensions in the form of at least one gripper that isadapted to grip the sides of the cover of the mobile phone. The supportcan include a structure allowing separation of the carrier member fromthe support. Such a structure can be a holding member operativelyattached to the support and releasably holding the carrier member inplace on the support, or a snap-fit structure can be used allowing thecarrier member to be snap-fit onto the support and permitting separationof the carrier member from the support. Several carrier members can bemade all with various configurations of lens stations, lensmagnifications, and light sources, and the operator can replace acarrier member with a different carrier member having the alternativeconfigurations. The carrier member is preferably a flat, disc shapedstructure but it can be other shapes as well.

In yet another aspect of the disclosure, and as mentioned above, thecarrier member has an opening formed in it. The opening can extend in anangle of, for example, about 90 degrees. The opening can be aligned withthe light and lens of the mobile phone, or one of the lens stations andlight sources can be aligned with the light and lens of the mobilephone. The carrier member can have two lens stations positioned on thecarrier member adjacent to the opening that can be aligned with the lensand light of the phone. Each of the lens stations has at least onerespective light source for alignment with the light of the phonecapturing light into the light paths or optical traces and thusproviding illumination to the object to be photographed. At least one ofthe light sources can include one or more optical splitters. An opticalsplitter is optically attached to two optical paths or traces havingrespective optical emitters at their ends. Each emitter can projectlight toward an object to be photographed as the lens in the lensstation is magnifying the image, thus appropriately magnifying andilluminating the object. The lens in the body of the phone sees themagnified image of the object that is illuminated by the light source onthe carrier member. It is such a magnified and illuminated image thatthe camera function of the phone will observe so that a high qualitydigital photo of the magnified and illuminated image can be made by thecamera.

In another aspect of the disclosure, the support can be in the form of arail that receives a portion of the carrier member, the carrier memberbeing linearly movable relative to the support. Such a linearly movablecarrier member can have one or more light sources and lens stations. Thelinearly movable carrier member and rail can include a ridge and recessstructure that holds the carrier member in place relative to the supportrail, and they can be replaced with other carrier members as alternatesare required.

The light sources can be include, for example, a light diffuser. Thelight diffuser can have ridges on the light output side for diffusinglight and projecting the light generally parallel to a major surface ofthe mobile phone, and also projecting light generally perpendicular tothe major surface. The light sources can include glass or plasticoptical fiber, or a combination thereof, as optical traces and opticallight paths.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front view of a magnification and lighting device of thedisclosure.

FIG. 2 is a partial front view of the magnification and lighting device.

FIG. 3 is a cross section of a carrier of the magnification and lightingdevice and carrier assembly.

FIG. 4 is a cross section of a support of the carrier.

FIG. 5 is a cross section of a first light source of the magnificationand lighting device.

FIG. 6 is a cross section of a second light source of the magnificationand lighting device.

FIG. 7 is a front view of a second magnification device.

FIG. 8 is a cross section of a carrier of the second magnificationdevice.

FIG. 9 is another cross section of the carrier of the secondmagnification device.

FIG. 10 is a cross section of an example lens assembly.

FIG. 11 is a cross section of a carrier of the magnification device andanother embodiment of the carrier assembly.

FIG. 12 is a cross section of a carrier of the magnification device andyet another embodiment of the carrier assembly.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE

FIG. 1 shows a piece of equipment having a magnification deviceassociated with it. The equipment has a cover 1 with an aperture 2, alens 3, and a light 4 in the body of the equipment. The equipment canbe, for example, a mobile device such as a cell phone or IPADmanufactured by Apple or Samsung, a smartphone such as the Apple iPhone7, iPhone 7 Plus, a Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime Plus, iPhone 6s or GalaxyS8, or the like which includes a digital camera function associated withthe lens and the light in the body of the equipment so that theequipment is capable taking digital photographs.

A magnification and lighting device is attached to cover 1. Themagnification and lighting device includes a carrier assembly having acarrier member 10 which is, for example, a generally round andessentially flat piece having a major surface that extends around about270 degrees (angle alpha). Carrier member 10 includes an opening or openarea 11, which extends about 90 degrees (angle beta), and opticalassemblies 12,13,14,15 mounted on carrier member 10. The opticalassemblies include at least one optical component such as a lens formagnification of light that is to be projected through the lens and intothe lens in the body of the equipment. In addition, one or more of theoptical assemblies can include light sources 30,40 respectively adjacentthereto for collecting light form the light in the body of the equipmentprojecting light toward the object(s) to be photographed. Carrier member10 is rotatably mounted to cover 1 so that rotation in direction A movesthe optical assemblies into alignment with the lens 3 and light 4. FIG.1 depicts open area 11 aligned with the lens 3 and light 4 which renderscarrier member 10 clear of lens 3 and light 4, and FIG. 2 depictscarrier member 10 rotated into a position in the direction of arrow Awhere optical assembly 12 is aligned with lens 3 and light 4.Alternatively, open area 11 can be fully or partially occupied by acarrier piece (not shown) that can be opaque, clear, colored, filtered,and/or comprise a convex or concave lens and formed of a material suchas glass or plastic. Carrier member 10 can be shapes other than thegenerally round 270 degree form as shown, for example, it can betriangular, octagonal, crescent, oval, or another suitable shape and allsuch shapes can include an open area or a carrier piece as previouslydescribed.

FIG. 2 more fully describes the magnification and lighting device.Carrier member 10 is rotatably mounted to cover 1 via a support 21. Asshown by the cross section of support 21 (FIG. 4), support 21 isoperatively associated with carrier member 10 such that carrier member10 can be rotated and releasably locked in positions such that open area11 and optical assemblies 12,13,14,15 can be rotated into alignment withlens 3 and light 4 in the body of the equipment. For example, support 21and carrier member 10 can be formed with flexible members thatreleasably lock the carrier member's position relative to cover 1. Inone example, the flexible members may be in the form of a ratchet andpawl construction 16,24 whereby rotation of carrier member 10 alongdirection A will result in the carrier member being releasably fixed inplace according to the desired disposition of carrier member 10 relativeto the lens 3 and light 4 in the body of the equipment. Alternatively,the rotational position of carrier member 10 can be held by one or moreflexible detents, ridges, springs, pins, screws, magnets, or othercomponents formed on the support 21 and carrier member 10. In addition,support 21 can include a structure allowing separation of carrier member10 from support 21. For example, support 21 can be at least partiallythreaded at the upper portion thereof and a holding member, such as forexample a nut 21 a, is operatively attached to the support, such as byscrewing the nut to the upper portion and thereby releasably holding thecarrier member in place. As an alternative to a thread/nut arrangement,a snap-fit structure can be formed on carrier member 10 and support 21.In this way, the operator can remove carrier member 10 and replace itwith other carrier members as desired. The other carrier members areinterchangeable with carrier member 10 and can have different lenses,filters, light source arrangements, splitters, optical fibers, diffusersor other optical and/or photographic components mounted thereon.

Referring to FIG. 3, support 20 includes a base 22 and attachment area23. Base 22 provides firm mechanical support for carrier 10. Attachmentarea 23 attaches the magnification and lighting device to the coverwith, for example, an adhesive, or Velcro material such as a microVelcro material. Optical assembly 12 is aligned with lens 3 and light 4,and optical assembly 14 is in a non-aligned position relative to lens 3and light 4 of the equipment. Optical assemblies 12 and 14 each includea respective light source 30,40. In addition to or in lieu of theadhesive and/or Velcro, attachment area 23 and base 22 can be extendedto include one or more grippers that extend to the edge or edges of thedevice cover 1. The grippers can be in the form of one or more flexibleextensions 22 a,22 b (FIG. 11) which are flexible and can be bent andextended partially or all the way around the cover during installationonto cover 1. For example, the grippers can have one or more frictionalareas 22 c,22 d that can grip the short sides of the cover or can extendaround to engage the longer side of the cover. Alternatively, support21, base 22, and attachment area 23 can be formed monolithically withcover 1 (FIG. 12).

FIG. 5 provides a further illustration of optical assembly 12 and lightsource 30. Light source 30 includes one or more optical traces such asoptical fiber, for example, a light transmitting plastic or glassoptical fiber or a combination hereof, which can be clear orcolored/filtered, that are embedded in, or attached on the outside of,carrier member 10. In addition, light source 30 includes optical traces31,31, each having a light emitter 34,35 respectively associatedtherewith. Light collector 33 is aligned with light 4 in a way thatmaximizes the amount of light being collected or coupled into theoptical traces. In an exemplary operation, light 4 emits light which iscollected by collector 33 and which passes through a splitter 36. Thelight is directed into paths 31,32 and is emitted by light emitters34,35. The light is directed in direction B toward object(s) to bephotographed by the equipment.

FIG. 6 further illustrates optical assembly 14. Optical assembly 40includes light source 40, which employs optical components, alone or incombination, that includes a light transmission path that results indiffused or focused light. For example, two optical diffusers 41,42 canbe mounted to carrier member 10 such as by adhesive bonding. Opticalridges 41 a,42 a are respectively formed on at least one respectivesurface of optical diffusers 41,42. Light enters the diffuser 41 whichdiffuses light from a lower side surface of the diffuser 41 in a firstoptical path, and the light moves to optical ridges 41 a. The light isemitted from optical ridges 41 a toward diffuser 42, it enters opticaldiffuser 42 and is further diffused by diffuser 42. Optical ridges oredges 41 a,42 a are operative to diffuse light in the first optical pathwhich ultimately projects from the diffusers. In an exemplary operation,light is emitted by light 4 in the body of the equipment toward diffuser41, which in turn transmits light toward the object(s) to bephotographed and at the same time projects light to diffuser 42 alongdirection C parallel to the major surface of the equipment. Diffuser 42collects and reflects the light and projects or transmits it toward theobject(s) to be photographed along direction D which is generallyperpendicular to the major surface of the equipment. Alternatively,lenses can be formed instead of optical ridges whereby the len(s) willfocus light on the object(s) to be photographed as opposed to diffusingthe light. However, combinations of diffusers and lenses, and othercomponents such as for example, splitters, filters, optical traces, andoptical fibers can be used.

Alternative optical assemblies can include, in addition to a lens or asa substitute, other optical components such as optical filters andattenuators. In addition, the optical assemblies can include more thanone lens such as an exemplary optical assembly 15 including a telescopicconfiguration, and example of which is shown in FIG. 10. Opticalassembly 15 includes two lenses 15 a, 15 b supported by a housing 15 c.The distance between the lenses can be adjusted along direction F by useof adjustment 15 d which can be a sliding mechanism, a rack and pinion,screw adjustment or the like. Optical assembly 15 can be mounted tocarrier 50, although it could be part of carrier 10 as well.

FIGS. 7-9 describes a second embodiment of the magnification andlighting device. FIG. 7 depicts a carrier member 50, which is moved bylinear action along direction E. Carrier member 50 includes a support 51and support sections 50 a,50 b. Optical assemblies 12,13,14,15 asdescribed above with reference to FIGS. 1-6 can be mounted on or incarrier member 50, in addition to variations thereof, and carrier member50 can be slidably adjusted to be clear of lens 3 and light 4 in thebody of the equipment as well. For example, the cross section of FIG. 8depicts an optical assembly 60 mounted to carrier member 50 havingoptical traces and a splitter 61, optical paths 62, a light collector63, and light emitters 64,65. Optical assembly 60 further includeshousings 66 attached to cover 1 for example by an adhesive or Velcrosuch as micro Velcro located at attachment areas 67. Rails 66 a,66 b areslidably received within housings 66 and a detent system is provided toreleasably lock carrier member 50 in place as it is adjusted. The detentsystem, as shown in FIG. 8, can include, for example, ridges 68 formedon rails 66 a,66 b and corresponding recesses formed on the insidesurfaces of housings 66. An operator can linearly move or slide carriermember 50 along direction E to position one of optical assemblies12,13,14,15 in place and the detent system will releasably hold thecarrier member in place.

The present disclosure describes and claims an exemplary magnificationand lighting attachment for mobile devices such as smartphones. Thedisclosure is not intended to be limiting, and the claims are intendedto cover alternative structures relative to those shown and describedherein.

1. A camera attachment for a mobile phone with a camera lens and anillumination component to photograph an object, comprising: a supportconfigured to be nonmovably attached to the mobile phone; a carriermember movably mounted to the support, the carrier member configured tobe movable relative to the mobile phone; a first lens station mounted tothe carrier member, the first lens station comprising a lens; and alight component mounted to the carrier member; wherein the carriermember is configured to move between a first position and a secondposition with the support nonmovably attached to the mobile phone;wherein, in the first position, the first lens station is in alignmentand optically coupled with the lens of the mobile phone to opticallymagnify the object to be photographed by the mobile phone, and the lightcomponent is in alignment and optically coupled with the illuminationcomponent of the mobile phone to illuminate the object to bephotographed by the mobile phone, wherein, in the second position, thefirst lens station is out of alignment and not optically coupled withthe lens of the mobile phone, and the light component is out ofalignment and not optically coupled with the illumination component ofthe mobile phone.
 2. The camera attachment of claim 1, wherein the lightcomponent further comprises a transparent material forming a firstoptical path, the light component comprising an optical collector at oneend for collecting light from the illumination component of the mobilephone and coupling the light into the light component, and comprising afirst light emitter optically coupled to another end for illuminatingthe object to be photographed with the light propagated from the opticalcollector to the first light emitter through the first optical path. 3.The camera attachment of claim 2, wherein the light component furthercomprises a second light emitter and an optical splitter forming asecond optical path between the optical collector and the second lightemitter, the optical splitter configured to propagate the light from theoptical collector to both of the first and second light emitters alongthe first and second optical paths, respectively.
 4. The cameraattachment of claim 1, wherein one of the carrier member and the supportfurther comprises a ratchet and wherein another of the carrier memberand the support further comprises a pawl.
 5. The camera attachment ofclaim 4, wherein the support is attached to a surface of a cover of themobile phone.
 6. The camera attachment of claim 1, wherein the carriermember further comprises a semi-annular opening of about 90 degrees, andthe first lens station and a second lens station are positioned adjacentthe semi-annular opening, the semi-annular opening configured to bealigned with the illumination component and the lens of the mobilephone.
 7. The camera attachment of claim 6, wherein the light componentcomprises an optical splitter, the optical splitter being opticallycoupled to at least two optical paths comprising respective opticalemitters for projecting light from the illumination component of themobile phone toward the object to be photographed.
 8. The cameraattachment of claim 1, wherein the support comprises a rail, and thecarrier member is mounted to the rail and is linearly movable relativeto the support.
 9. The camera attachment of claim 8, wherein the lightcomponent comprises an optical splitter, the optical splitter beingoptically coupled to at least two optical paths comprising respectiveoptical emitters for projecting light from the illumination component ofthe mobile phone toward the object to be photographed.
 10. The cameraattachment of claim 8, wherein one of the carrier member and the raildefines a ridge and another of the carrier member and the rail defines arecess structure.
 11. The camera attachment of claim 7, wherein thesupport further comprises flexible extensions adapted to grip sides of acover of the mobile phone.
 12. The camera attachment of claim 7, furthercomprising a cover for the mobile phone, wherein the support ismonolithically formed with the cover.
 13. The camera attachment of claim6, wherein the light component comprises a light diffuser, the lightdiffuser comprising ridges for diffusing light.
 14. The cameraattachment of claim 7, wherein the support comprises a holding member tomovably mount the carrier member to the support.
 15. The cameraattachment of claim 7, wherein the support comprises a snap-fitstructure to movably mount the carrier member to the support.
 16. Thecamera attachment of claim 7, wherein the light component comprises anoptical fiber.
 17. The camera attachment of claim 16, wherein theoptical fiber comprises at least one of glass, plastic, or a combinationthereof.